Heavy metal blares through the workout space at Lightning Fitness in South Windsor as Justin Fisher, 33, of Vernon, pulls a rope in an exercise simulating a truck-pull. He's wearing a yellow truck-pull harness over his 6-foot, 5-inch, 340-pound frame, training for an actual event in a strongman competition.

Nearby, Charron Daigle, a 56-year-old Ellington woman, lifts weights she never imagined being able to lift. A petite woman, she looks fit and trim, and she's also very strong.

"People drive three to four hours to train here on the weekends," says owner and trainer Matt Mills. The gym is known for its vast array of equipment and for the camaraderie the place exudes, others working out testify — especially for people like Fisher and Daigle, serious competitors in strongman and powerlifting competitions.

Lightning Fitness is one slice of the gym scene in Greater Hartford. Gyms of all kinds continue to draw people. The busiest time for new membership is especially after the New Year, when vows are made to shed those extra pounds or get in better shape.

Membership in health clubs across the nation reached an all-time high of 57.3 million in 2016, the most recent available records. That's an increase of 3.6 percent, according to the Boston-based International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.

One reason is how we live.

"As a society, we've become much more sedentary," says Linda S. Pescatello, a University of Connecticut professor of kinesiology, noting that the average American sits 14 hours a day. "To make up for that, we clearly need to get to the gym because our jobs are not active and a lot of our leisure time isn't active either."

Kelsey Ruth of West Hartford does an assisted pull-up during a WIP Fitness, boot camp-style class in downtown Hartford. WIP in Hartford offers five 50-minute high intensity interval training or HIIT classes a day, primarily for downtown professionals. (Lauren Schneiderman | Hartford Magazine)

Pescatello should know. She's on the American College of Sports Medicine advisory committee, which is establishing physical activity guidelines for Americans for 2018.

Like fashion, gym trends change all the time, and you can see them in practice at gyms and health clubs across the region.

Tyler English Fitness, billed as a boot camp for getting fit, has gyms in Canton, Vernon and, last fall, opened a new one in Newington, relocating from its former West Hartford address. There you'll see the popularity of group training, ranked second only to high-intensity interval training (short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by short periods of rest) practiced at the growing number of CrossFit gyms.

"One hundred percent of the people who walk into your gym want some form of a body transformation," says English, who also works afternoons as Simsbury High School's strength coach.

Two years ago, he says, he stopped marketing to the average gym member and started marketing to the person sitting at home.

That's a sharp contrast from at least a generation ago when gyms were home to football players and other athletes, mostly men, who would lift weights. A sub-culture of bodybuilders added to the mix. But today, throughout the region, state and nation, gym membership has gone mainstream for both sexes.

At Tyler English Fitness, large group personal training is the mode most popular. If that sounds like an oxymoron, it's not. English and his team design structured training programs, then tweak them for individuals based on their abilities and goals. Typically, 45-minute sessions attract groups of 10, 15 or 20 men and women, a majority of whom get the gym three to four days a week, says English.

At CrossFit Hartford, a 5:30 a.m. class is busy too, though the most popular session starts at a more civilized 9 a.m. The gym sits in a warehouse tucked off Newfield Avenue near the Ctfastrak Flatbush stop. Single stripes of blue and green paint wrap around white cinderblock walls, evoking the colors of the former Hartford Whalers hockey team and today's Hartford Yard Goats minor league baseball team, which strikes a sense of place. It's one of about 30 CrossFit gyms (or "boxes") throughout Greater Hartford.

Jordan Raineault, a 32-year-old guidance counselor in the Hartford public school system, is a CrossFit devotee. For nearly three years, he's shown up for a 5:30 a.m. class, giving him enough time to work out, return home, shower, eat and get to work, he says.

Raineault and his wife fell in love with the workout style, a mix of strength-training and conditioning or cardio training.

"We've made a ton of new friends here," says Raineault, underscoring a key attraction of CrossFit gym culture.

"Everyone can go somewhere to sweat or get strong or learn about a squat or a press. But the magic happens with the community," says CrossFit Hartford co-owner Mark Balkun, who grew up in West Hartford and played football at Northwest Catholic High School.

"They're here to help each other out. They're friends outside of here," says Balkun. "People have gotten married from here. I met my wife at a CrossFit gym."

Programs designed by Balkun's co-owner, Kevin Doyle, another West Hartford native, run an hour and members tend to show up six days a week, asking their coach what the WOD is, a CrossFit acronym for "workout of the day."

Jill Dulitsky of West Hartford completes burpee box jumps at part of the WOD or "workout of the day" at CrossFit Hartford. (Lauren Schneiderman | Hartford Magazine)

Justin Talbot of Meriden competes a box jump as part of the workout of the day at CrossFit Hartford. CrossFit Hartford co-owners Mark Balkun and Kevin Doyle design hour-long programs that mix it up for participants each day. (Lauren Schneiderman | Hartford Magazine)

One recent morning, the WOD included a 200-meter run outside, 21 sit-ups, 15 lunges and nine ring-dips AMRAP, another CrossFit acronym for "as many rounds as possible. Members cheer each other on, hug each other, give each other high-fives.

"We try to keep it as positive as possible," says Balkun. "So no matter what happens in your day, when you're here, this hour is the best hour of your day. And that affects you everywhere else."

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Despite the growing popularity of gyms, the actual percentage of people who use a gym regularly declines after a few months of joining.

"What we're fighting is trying to get people off the couch, getting people interested in fitness," says Balkun.

Walk into Iron House Fitness in Old Saybrook and find bold walls, featuring colorful graffiti. The urban vibe is complemented by innovative options, such as a spin class, held in the dark.

"We like to have a dark room because people can really zone out, listen to the music. We like to teach to the tempo of the music. Our instructors are road cyclists so we try to take you on a journey with visualization of being out on the road," says co-owner Kati Papoosha, who opened the gym three years ago.

"If we want to add some fun to it, we turn colorful lights on and make it like a dance club."

This hybrid gym features a variety of classes, cardio equipment and free weights. Small group training programs, such as Revenge Body, have attracted customers.

"Maybe you got divorced, had a break up, lost your job or you just want to make some changes," says Papoosha. It's all about being the best you can be and feeling really good."

Be prepared for a life-changing experience at The Zoo Health Club in Simsbury.

"When you're fit and healthy, you live longer. You can enjoy your grandkids. You save a fortune on medication," says owner John Evans.

"People have come in severely overweight. They're scared to get on the treadmill and walk. We've helped some complete half-marathons. To see them crying at the finish line with tears of joy — it's unbelievable."

When owner Debra Fountain had small children, she started lifting weights at home to get back in shape.

"I got hooked," she says, noting that this propelled her to become a personal trainer. "I want to share with women: m

Muscle changes your body."

Fountain opened LIFER in West Hartford in 2015 — offering a combination of cycle, kickboxing, barre and yoga to a mostly female client base.

Debra Fountain, of West Hartford, (second from right) leads a barre class at Lifer Fitness in West Hartford. Fountain is founder and owner of the boutique fitness studio. (Cloe Poisson | Hartford Magazine)

It's the combo classes that make LIFER distinctive.

"You get everything you need under one roof," says Fountain.

A particularly popular option? The BabyMomma Barre class. Mom can bring baby to the gym —wear him in a sling, leave him in a carseat or watch him play on the floor as she gets a good workout.

Fearless Fitness has been open for less than a year but it's already made a big impact on West Hartford.

"There were people going to other gyms and feeling stagnant and not seeing results anymore, so, they were able to come to our gym and say, 'This is new, this is fresh, it's different,'" says owner Brandon Rocco who graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2012 before falling in love with personal training.

This former rugby player raised the money to open the gym by selling a fitness apparel brand on Instagram. Now, he's poised to open a second location in Farmington in January.

"We do group personal training for all fitness levels …we focus on strength and conditioning, muscular endurance and cardiovascular," says Rocco of the 45-minute high-intensity boot camp classes with a different focus each day. The clientele is male and female — ranging in age from 16 to 85.

Hartford 11/28/2017 Greg Mellor of Hartford completes a pull up as part of the WOD or "workout of the day" at CrossFit Hartford. CrossFit Hartford co-owners Mark Balkun and Kevin Doyle design hour-long programs that mix it up for participants, each day the WOD varies. LAUREN SCHNEIDERMAN | lschneiderman@courant.com (Lauren Schneiderman / Hartford Courant)